The housing industry has joined forces to address the lack of skilled labor entering residential construction with the creation of the Skilled Labor Fund.

NAHB, the National Housing Endowment (NHE), the National Kitchen + Bath Association, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and SGC Horizon announced this new fund during the International Builders’ Show in Orlando.

The fund will be launched with the support of SGC Horizon, parent company of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines.

“We have found the most success in addressing this issue at the state and local level,” said NAHB CEO Jerry Howard. “This fund gives us another tool in our toolbox to solve this problem.”

The fund will be used to attract and train skilled labor for the residential construction market by providing scholarships for students to attend accredited training schools and training facilities throughout the country.

The fund is part of NHE, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, dedicated to helping the housing industry develop more effective approaches to home building and enhancing education and training in residential construction. NHE supports several student scholarship programs and the Homebuilding Education Leadership Program, which provides grants to colleges and universities to help them create, expand or enhance residential construction management programs.

“We can’t solve this problem by ourselves. But our associations will do this together,” said NARI CEO Fred Ulreich.

Thanks for asking, Kendall. Once it gets going, the fund is designed to support skills training programs of various kinds. Programs that our HBAs are involved through local schools and training centers, both affiliated with HBI and not, will be eligible for consideration.